Bristol was crying out for some cool new places to stay, and then, like buses, two came along almost at once. Last year the Artist Residence opened in a former boot factory in the up-and-coming neighbourhood of St Paul’s, and now Hort’s, a former sports bar on Broad Street, has undergone an extensive eight-month renovation. The beautiful grade II listed pub remains, but the TV screens and sticky floors are gone. In their place is an upmarket art deco boozer with 19 boutique rooms upstairs.
Overall score 9/10
Main photo: the Feature Boutique room at Hort’s Townhouse
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Rooms and suites
Score 9/10
Over the years the unused upstairs floors had fallen into disrepair, the original features boarded up and their history erased. Not any more. The building has been gutted, and the Harrison design agency has created rooms that effortlessly blend original art deco details with modern furnishings, bold colours and striking contemporary artwork. High ceilings give the rooms a feeling of space, while huge windows overlooking the city’s Old Guildhall allow light to flood in. My room, with pistachio wood panelling, bottle-green scalloped-shell headboard and parquet flooring, oozed sophistication with a whiff of Oliver Bonas catalogue.
The rooms range in size from “Cosy” (extremely snug yet stylish) to increasingly larger “Boutique” rooms — some with cool geometric ceiling lights. “Bigger Boutiques” have more space, with a scallop-shell chair and sofa for cosy reading, while the impressive first-floor “Feature Boutique” has a pull-out double sofa-bed and room for a pooch. Beds for humans, as you’d hope, are sumptuous. Bathrooms range from small shower-only affairs to expansive spaces with free-standing baths in two of the Bigger Boutique rooms. All have smart white tiles with black grouting, rain showers and Bramley products.
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Food and drink
Score 9/10
The open-plan pub-restaurant downstairs is very different from the run-of-the-mill footie bar of yore. Behind the smart wood-panelled bar are the obligatory keg beers and Young’s ales, as well as 20 varieties of gin and 27 whiskies. Old prints and paintings of Bristol’s romantic architecture, suspension bridge and railway adorn the walls, alongside modern prints of the city and its highlights, such as the annual hot-air balloon fiesta.
The dining area is tucked away at the back with a semi-open kitchen and a menu that majors on local and British produce from the farm and the sea. We kicked off with a platter of oysters, and the elevated pub starters also include black pudding Scotch egg, smoked ham hock terrine and melt-in-the-mouth Welsh rarebit.
My fish pie main, with smoked haddock, prawn and trout, was beautifully classic yet refined — and the portion size was perfect. The south coast plaice with brown shrimp, samphire and caper butter also comes recommended. The roasts are a weekly Sunday highlight.
Breakfast, served in a more intimate corner of the restaurant, features a large table of pastries, cereals and fruit, and there’s a classic menu of English breakfasts, eggs and avo on sourdough and fluffy pancakes — all of which were scrumptious.
What else does it offer?
Score n/a
This is a city centre hotel, so don’t expect a spa, pool or sweeping gardens.
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Where is it?
Score 8/10
In a prime Bristol location in the old city, the hotel is a ten-minute stroll from the lively Harbourside. Castle Park, the upmarket shops at Cabot Circus and the pubs around Welsh Back are all close by. Bristol Temple Meads, the main railway station, is a 20-minute walk away.
Price B&B doubles from £150
Restaurant mains from £15
Family-friendly Y
Dog-friendly Y
Accessible Y
Ben Clatworthy was a guest of Hort’s Townhouse
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